Tennis post and net stretcher.



B. E. DOBREE. TENNIS POST AND NET STRETCHER.

APPLICATlON FILED MAR. 26. 1915.

Patented May 9, 1916.

5.51 Dobre BERNARD E. DOBR'EE, OF BATTLEFOB-D, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA.

TENNIS POST AND NET STRETCI-IER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 9, 19%.

Application filed March 26, 1915. Serial No. 17,301.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BERNARD E, Donnnn, a sub ect of the Kmg of Great Britain, re-

siding at Battleford, in the Province of Saskatchewan, and Dominion of Canada,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tennis Post and Net Stretchers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to tennis posts and net stretchers, and one of the principal objects of the invention is to provide simple means for stretching a net over the top of a post, and means for supporting said post rigidly in upright position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a post for a tennis net having a pulley at the upper end thereof and a lever mounted to slide on the post when in an exactly horizontal position, said lever having the wire rope connected to the upper edge of the net attached thereto, in such a manner that when the lever is slightly til ed off the horizontal plane, it will grip the post and hold the wire stretched, and will permit ready adjustment of the wire and net.

The foregoing and other objects may be attained by means of the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawin in which- Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a tenms net and post therefor, and means for stretching the upper line of the net, made in accordance with this invention, Fig. 2 1s a top plan view of the stretching lever, and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates one of the tennis net posts, and 2 is the other post. These posts are preferably made of metal piping of the required gage and strength, and in order to hold them upright in the ground, a post hole auger may be used for removing a certain amount of dirt and the post is then placed in the ground and filled around with cement or concrete 3, thus holding the post rigidly in vertical position. However, other means for securing the post in the ground may be resorted to, but in order to render the stretching device eflicient it is necessary that the post he held rigidly in vertical position. At the upper end of the post 1 is a grooved pulley 4c, and a similar pulley 5 is journaled in the upper end of the post 2. The net 6 may be of the usual construction and just above the ground line the wire or rope 7 may be provided with end loops 8 through which the posts 1 and 2 extend. At the up per edge of the net is a wire or rope 9. One end of the rope or cable 9 is connected to a belaying clcat 10 attached to the post 1, and the wire or cable 9 is passed over the pulley i and extended across and passed over the pulley 5. When the wire or cable 9 is stretched across between the posts 1 and 2, the net is held taut, and in order to accomplish this desirable result a lever is pro vided, said lever comprising a round head portion 11 having an aperture 12 therein which will nicely fit over the post 2, when the lever is held at right angles to the post. A suitable handle comprising two members 13 and 1% is connected to the head 11, and the cable or wire 9 is adapted to be connected at the reduced portion 15 of the handle, and between the members 13 and 14:, as shown more clearly in Fig. 1 of the drawing. When the lever is grasped in both hands, one hand grasping the portion 13 and the other grasping the portion 14:, and the lever is pulled down horizontally on the pipe 2, it will move freely thereon, and when the handle members are released, the outer end of the lever is thrown upward slightly owing to the strain of the wire or cable 9, and the inner edges of the aperture 12 will bite and clamp the post 2 and hold the wire or cable 9 in-stretched condition.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that a net stretcher made in accordance with this invention, can be manufactured at low cost, is reliable and efiicient for its purpose, and can be quickly operated for holding a net propped between the two posts.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as de fined in the claim.

What is claimed is The combination of a tennis net stretcher and a pair of circular posts, a lever having an opening in one end thereof, handle of said lever composed of two enlarged portions said enlarged portions joined together 10 by a reduced portion around Which the cord is secured, the enlarged portions of the handle being adapted to prevent slipping of the cord When the lever is in frictional engagement with the post.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of tWo Witnesses.

BERNARD E. DOBREE. Witnesses:

J. ARTHUR WILD, H. C. BURLINGHAM.

Ooplns of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

